


I Still Owe You That Drink

by sbstevenson2



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 07:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13382862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbstevenson2/pseuds/sbstevenson2
Summary: OQ Fix It Week: Roni Day. Roni has a regular patron, Hunter, whom she has started a flirtatious friendship with. One day, Hunter finally works up the courage to ask Roni out. OutlawQueen...with a little RegalBeliever thrown in :)





	I Still Owe You That Drink

**Author's Note:**

> OQ fix it week: Roni Day
> 
> Prompt: Roni and Robin break the curse with true love’s kiss 
> 
> A/N: Thanks to Brooke and Shay for their feedback on this...and to Hannah for her help in picking a name (which was honestly the hardest part of this whole thing lol!)
> 
> Enjoy and leave a review to let me know what you think! :)

He comes into the bar every week. Sometimes two or three nights depending on the week he’s had at work. He sits in the same seat, third bar stool from the left, and makes friendly conversation with her. She owns this bar, Roni’s. Had named it after herself when she bought it out from under the former owner, Roy. He was a grumpy old man, salt and pepper beard and always had a beanie on his head. He was nice enough, called everyone  _ sister _ for some reason, but he was reasonable when it came to giving her all the good shifts, so she never complained. He finally left the bar a few years ago to pursue a career as the local handyman. Claimed he couldn’t sit and listen to everyone’s problems for one more day. Luckily, Roni had been working for Roy as long as she could remember, so when he offered the bar to her, it only seemed like the natural choice. 

This blue eyed man with the salty colored hair, Hunter, had been a customer for the last few months. Claimed he was walking past the bar one night after a long day at work and needed a drink. The arrows on the sign drawing him in since he’d always loved shooting bows and arrows as a young boy. He’s friendly, knows when to keep to himself on her busier nights, and never annoys her like some of the other regulars do. He’s charming, and she finds she enjoys work much more lately when he’s sitting on his stool, dimples popping on his cheeks when he shamelessly flirts with her (not that she’s complaining).

She doesn’t have many regulars now that Victoria Belfrey is taking over the town, but she’s thankful that she still gets business. There’s Hunter that she can count on seeing a few days a week, Gunter and Vlad, who come in every single night together after work, and now the newest face, Henry. He’s younger, is trying his hardest to woo her newest waitress, Jacinda, and it makes Roni smirk every time he walks in the door. There’s something about this Henry that brings a smile to her face.

Pulling away from her thoughts, Roni spots Hunter walking in. There’s an uneasy smile on his face that she can’t quite place. Maybe he had a bad day at work.

“What can I get ya, Hunt?” she asks, wiping the counter space in front of him clean.

“Whiskey, neat.”

Raising her eyebrows at his stronger than usual order, she queries, “Long day at work?”

“You have no idea,” he tells her, taking a long sip the moment she sets his drink down in front of him. He tells her that work had been really tough today. The business, a sporting good store, had been doing really well. He’s worked there as long as he can remember and there’s never been a lack of business. Until, that is, Victoria, came swooping in last month, claiming she was going to buy the business out from under his boss (and best mate), Jack Little. His boss is a big, burly man with curly hair, looks like he could beat up anyone who crosses him, even though he’s the kindest man Hunter has ever known, so he wasn’t quite sure how Jack was going to take it when Victoria came in offering to buy the storefront from him. Jack doesn’t want to sell, especially not to a bitch like Victoria, but his kid is sick and his wife quit her job to take care of their daughter over a year ago. So, as much as he doesn’t want to give up his business he started years ago, the money she’s offering would make paying the hospital bills so much easier.

“I understand, of course,” Hunter tells her, tossing back another sip, “I just don’t know if I can work there knowing Victoria is calling all of the shots.”

Anger flares up in Roni once again. Who does this bitch think she is? Victoria has been trying to buy her bar for months now, and she almost gave it up to her a few weeks ago, until she was inspired by her newest employee, Jacinda, to stand up to bullies like Victoria and keep her bar. She’s worked too hard to make this bar what it is (Roy hadn’t cared much about the atmosphere, so it was a little dank when she took over) to just give it up for a big check. 

It’s slow tonight, so she’s able to spend some extra time talking with Hunter, reassuring him that it’ll all work out. She understands Jack’s predicament, doesn’t blame him. Tells Hunter that if she had a kid, she’d do anything she could to provide for them.

Just then, Henry walks in. He gives Jacinda a coy smile before coming to sit two stools down from Hunter. The men nod in a greeting toward one another, know each other well enough now that Henry’s been coming in on a regular basis the past few weeks.

Turning to pour Henry his beer, she greets him, making small talk and asking how his day had been. After a few moments of making sure he was comfortable (which he was, he’ll barely touch his beer, like always, being far too busy watching Jacinda make her rounds), she smirks, tells him she doesn’t know why he doesn’t just sit at one of her tables instead of up here at the bar with her.

Shyly grinning, Henry shrugs a shoulder and tells her, “I wouldn’t know what to say.”

Smiling at his innocence, even though he’s a grown man, she tells him he’ll be fine and that he should go talk to her. He’s done it before, hell, he’s already helped the waitress see her daughter, Lucy, at her ballet recital, so he’s already got an in with her.

Taking a deep breath, Henry stands from the bar, grabbing his beer and says through a smile, “you’re right, Roni. Thanks.” He makes his way over to one of Jacinda’s empty tables and as the tanned skin beauty heads over there, shooting Roni a look as if to say  _ why did you do that? _ , Henry sits up a little bit taller and starts to make small talk with the waitress.

Giggling to herself, Roni makes her way back over to Hunter after checking that the rest of her patrons are settled and happy. She knows Henry will be fine. Jacinda may act like she doesn’t want to see him, but Roni knows better. They’re cute, and she hopes they become something one day soon.

“No kids, then?” He asks, finishing his drink and pulling her mind back to their previous conversation.

Recalling that she’d just told him she would do anything to provide for her child if she had one, she pulls in a deep breath and then lets it out. She takes his empty glass away while blowing out her breath and saying “Nah.” She tells him she’s always been more focused on her career, which she has.

“No one’s exactly been beating down the door lately either to take me out.”

Hunter sits back a little at that, eyebrows narrowing at her as if he doesn’t believe a word she’s just said. “That simply can’t be true.”

Shrugging and cocking an eyebrow up, she reassures him with a smirk, “it is.”

Granted, she’s gone on a few dates over the last few years but nothing ever significant. And certainly nothing that ever felt real.

Hunter tells her he refuses to believe that because, “I’ve been coming in here for months now, getting to know you, and have been trying to think of some way to ask you out for  _ weeks _ .” Says that any wanker bolder than he surely would have asked her out by now.

Staring at him, dumbfoundedly at first, she shakes her head and scrunches her nose and smiles. Sure, his blue eyes had captivated her from the first moment he walked in. That British accent doing things to her insides every time he opened his mouth to speak. She’s been fantasizing about him asking her out (and doing other delicious things to her body) for weeks on end, but to actually hear him say the words out loud, that he’s been wanting to ask her out, astounds her.

“Wh - what?” she stutters outs, her usually cool, calm and collected demeanor momentarily slipping away. She tries to regain her composure by nodding her head in the direction of the whiskey, silently asking him if he wants another. He nods, so she begins to pour his drink.

Chuckling, he says, “Surely you didn’t think I came in here this often just for the whiskey.”

Placing his fresh drink down in front of him, she smiles up at him, eyes softening as she whispers, “I wasn’t sure.”

They’ve been playing this game for weeks, him coming in for a few drinks, flirting and making conversation, almost as if they’ve been having small little dates while she’s been at work. She’s enjoyed her time with Hunter, and going on a date with him certainly doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world.

Before he can take a sip from his glass that is raised to his lips, he sets it back down. Staring into her eyes, blue on brown, he says, “Well I would very much love it if you would have a drink with me?”

With that, it’s as if all the air in her lungs has left her. There’s something about this mysterious man that has always intrigued her. Feels like she’s known him longer than just a few months. Trying to calm her beating heart rate, and act like the laid back woman she (normally) is, she lets out a small, breathy giggle, saying skeptically, “You want to buy me a drink… in my own bar?”

Mental images of them, sipping whiskey, while she stands behind the bar and he sits on a stool, like normal, come to her mind. That’s not at all how she pictures a date with Hunter going.

Letting his head fall back in laughter, he catches his breath and says, “Well, no, actually, milady, I was hoping I could buy you a drink… somewhere else.”

Oh. Well, that makes more sense. She could actually change clothes, not be in her jeans and floral printed leather jacket when she goes on a date. She loves her denim, loves the comfort her wardrobe provides her, but she does actually own a few skin tight dresses that show off her figure even more than her usual rock band tank tops.

“Or perhaps, if you’re up for it,” he stammers out, “we could get dinner. Afterall, I still owe you that drink.”

They’d had a bet running a few weeks ago about whether or not Henry would ask Jacinda out by that Friday night. Roni knew he wouldn’t, but Hunter swore his new drinking buddy would get the courage. Said if Henry didn’t ask Jacinda out by Friday night at closing time, then the loser owed the other one a drink. Friday came and went and still Henry hadn’t asked Jacinda out, much to Roni’s amusement.

An elusive smile comes to her lips remembering the bet they’d made. She looks down at him through her thick lashes and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear. She glances around the bar to see if anyone else has picked up on their conversation before affirming flirtatiously, “Yeah, I suppose you do.”

They talk a little bit more and agree that they don’t want to wait any longer for this date than just a few hours (changing clothes be damned, he clearly likes her in those jeans and leather jackets, no need to dress up just yet… next time, definitely. Because she already  _ knows _ there will be a next time). He agrees to stay until closing time. Then they’ll go grab a few pizza slices from the pizza joint down the street that stays open until four am for some unknown reason.

Henry leaves when Jacinda does, claiming he’ll be more than happy to drive her home and make sure she gets in her apartment ok. With a smile tugging on her lips, Jacinda tells Henry that’s fine if he doesn’t mind waiting so she can get her tables cleaned up. Of course Henry agrees, saying he’d wait as long as she needed.

Rolling her eyes at the young love brewing on the other side of her bar, Roni wipes off the counter and starts counting the money they made for the night as her few remaining customers slowly make their way out the door.

After a while, she comes around the bar to stand next to Hunter. He stands, stretching his legs (he’s been sitting there for a few hours at this point, surely his back is killing him), and asks if she’s ready. She turns to look into his eyes, getting lost in the blue pools for a second. The words  _ I was born to gaze into those eyes _ floats around her brain for a moment before she slightly shakes her head, wondering where in the hell that thought came from.

“We’re gonna head out, Ron,” Jacinda calls as Henry slips her jacket onto her shoulders.

Jerking her head in her employee’s direction, as if the clear the fog she’s just been lost in, she turns and smiles, saying she’ll see her tomorrow. Henry and Jacinda send matching smirks her way, seemingly knowing that Hunter has asked her out (and clearly they both approve).

Rolling her eyes in amusement, she turns back to Hunter and says, “You ready?”

He agrees as she leans over the bar to collect her purse from underneath. As they’re making their way to the front door, Hunter places his hand at the small of her back. That simple touch sends a jolt of electricity through her, and she wonders if it was because of  _ who _ was touching her or just for the fact that she hasn’t been touched by someone else, in any way, in months upon months.

They get just outside the door, and as she stops to place the key inside the lock, the air thickens. She likes Hunter, has liked him for weeks on end, and now she knows he likes her, too. There’s always been this unspeakable connection between them. They’re going on a date, as simple as it may be, and she doesn’t know what the rest of the night may hold, but she’s excited.

Looking up into his face, she realizes just how close they are standing, both huddled in the doorway of her bar, faces mere inches from each other. Roni’s breath grows heavy and she realizes Hunter is slowing inching his face toward her.

“Hunter,” she breathes out, placing her hand on his stubbled jaw.

“Roni,” he mimicks, brushing her curled hair away from her face, “Is this ok?”

Damn it. Good looking, charming,  _ and _ considerate? Of course it’s ok. More than ok.

She breathes out a  _ yes _ just as his lips make contact with hers. They stand there a moment, her hand going from his jaw up into his hair, while his hands come to rest on her hips, lips interlocking and moving over each others. It’s nice, soft, even as his tongue slips inside her mouth and a moan escapes from the back of her throat. His lips feel amazing on hers.

Suddenly, there’s a gust of wind that rushes over them and a light that emanates from around their bodies. Memories of a past life, of shared kisses with a soulmate, soft touches and warm glances fill their minds. Pulling back from each other with a gasp, they stare wide eyed into each other’s eyes.

“Robin?” She asks, tears pooling in her eyes and eyebrows creasing in confusion.

“Regina?”

Realty sets in and all they can do is wrap up in each other’s embraces and pull each other in for another kiss, salt from their tears mixing on their lips. Pulling back, she looks into his face once again to make sure it’s really him. She presses her lips together again, pulling back in disbelief and running her fingertips along her bottom lip. This man in front of her doesn’t feel like a photograph when she kisses him; he’s not some distant memory or cheap imitation of her other half. This is  _ her _ Robin and nothing can compare to the elation she feels at finally having him in her arms. She never thought she’d have this, but yet here he is, still holding her in his arms, staring so lovingly into her eyes.

She lets out a wet chuckle as tears slip down Robin’s cheeks, saying he can’t believe she’s really here. He tells her he’s missed her so much, and God, words cannot even express how much she has missed him. She’d spent the first countless months after his death crying herself to sleep every night, curling into his pillow to inhale what little of his forest scent was left on it and wondering what more she could’ve done to bring him back. The emptiness she felt without him was palpable to everyone around her for years after his death. Snow would always encourage her to have hope that one day she wouldn’t feel quite so empty inside, but she knew in her heart of hearts that yes, she may be able to learn to live without him eventually, but she would always have a void in her heart with him gone. She knew she’d never be as happy as she’d once been with Robin, Henry and Roland by her side.

Looking at him in awe and running her hands over his face to make sure he’s really there, she weeps, “How did you get here?”

“I’m not sure,” he cries, smiling and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer and placing a kiss into her hairline. She pulls back far enough to look into his eyes, still shocked that he’s here, has been here this whole time. She leans in, bumping their noses together and whispering an  _ I love you _ that he quickly gives back to her, assuring her he loves her, has always loved her, and  _ will _ always love her.

She’s not sure how he ended up here after Hades obliterated him, but she doesn’t care. She has him back, has the other part of her soul back, and now they can be together again. Always. Just like she’d vowed that fateful night in the tunnels right before her entire world was turned upside down and inside out.

As tears stream down both of their faces, she hears, “Mom?” from somewhere down the street.

Laughing, she untangles from Robin’s grasp, but laces their fingers together on one hand, still wanting to feel his warmth that she’s missed for so long. Wiping her cheeks with her free hand, she turns her body just in time to see Henry running up to her. Bodies collide in a giant group hug and tears fall down all of their cheeks as Henry realizes exactly who Roni and Hunter had been all along.

Taking a moment to comment on how  _ big _ Henry has gotten, even though she’s been looking at him for weeks on end (and now remembers leaving Storybrooke years ago to stay with him in another realm), she still can’t believe this is her little prince. She has two of her three boys back, and she couldn’t be happier. Stunned, but happy. Now all they need is Roland for their family to be complete again. When things settle down and they all figure out what exactly has happened, or how to get out of this loathsome town, finding Robin’s son  _ will _ be their next adventure.Their family isn’t complete without the youngest member, and without saying it aloud, they both know they need to get him back.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Regina whispers, lacing her fingers back together with Robin’s as he wraps her other arm around Henry’s waist (can, in fact, no longer reach his shoulders like she once could). Jacinda, now Ella again, joins them as Henry steps away from his mother and embraces his long lost love, saying they need to go tell Lucy, to which Regina realizes she’s now a grandmother. Tears spring to her eyes once again at the thought, at how much she’s missed but also at the joy over her son finding his happiness, his own story. 

 

She’s not sure how Lady Tremaine, otherwise known as that bitch, Victoria, cursed them all to this town, but looking into Robin’s blue eyes, eyes so familiar, eyes that she’d dreamt about for years on end after he was so cruelly ripped from her world, she finds she can’t be all that upset at the new curse when it brought back the part of her that had been missing for so long. 

  
  



End file.
